Log Upcoming A24-V5 Build / Stoopid airflow question?

[vlad1966]

So, I bought the LZMod A24-V5 gray case a few days ago on AliExpress & they currently show delivery in about 9 days.
Looking forward to receiving it (I love all metal cases, especially aluminum & hate plastic of any kind on cases).
Reviews I've seen online show it has very good build quality & I love the internal layout, with the PSU mounting in front, support of 2 80x10mm fans on one (top) side, and all the ventilation holes for airflow. I intend to use the case horizontally, laying flat on my desk.

I also love AMD APU's & intend to use this case with the lowest-priced B650 mobo that supports 2 M.2 SSD's with an upcoming, soon-to-be-released Ryzen 7000 series Zen 4 desktop APU (7700G?) . According to online rumors, these APUs are due to be released "Very Soon". REALLY hope so.

With that, I'm wondering about a couple of cooling-related things for this upcoming build:

- Can anyone recommend good 80x10mm fans for this case & possibly where to buy them? I've looked online & haven't been able to find any.
I plan to use at least 2 in the right side of the case (when case is laying horizontal) & possibly 2 more on the left side of the case (next to the PCI-E slot of the motherboard)
I will most likely be adding either a 10GBE NIC in the PCI-E slot or a PCI-E to M.2 card to support an NVME SSD.

- Wondering about the direction of the fans for this case. I originally thought the fans on the left side of the case would blow into the case & the fans on the right would exhaust, but I've been toying with the idea on having 1 fan on each side as intake & 1 as exhaust. I've never actually tried doing this on any builds I've done & am wondering what kind of cooling results this would provide?

- The APU/CPU cooler I'll most likely use is the Thermalright AXP120-X67, since including fan it has a 67mm height & this case supports a max. of 69.7mm, though wondering if 2.7mm is enough to avoid turbulence in this case.

Almost forgot to mention - for PSU, I'll be using the HDPlex GaN250 I already own, mounting to the front of the case (double-sided tape anyone? )

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[k0n]

2.7mm could be enough... I would set all case fans for exhaust. Create negative pressure* inside the case with the CPU fan as an intake.

*might be beneficial to block all venting holes that don't do anything.

 

[nicknamenik]

I'm about to make a build in this case as well, so I'll just share a few tips.

Can anyone recommend good 80x10mm fans for this case

I bought these, ID Cooling is a brand I've been using alot in my mini-ITX projects, so these should be good. There's also these, they have higher RPM but are naturally louder, imo both are good choices.

Wondering about the direction of the fans for this case

Just as the first comment mentioned, if your SFF system has a good intake CPU fan, you want the rest of the fans to exhaust the hot air out of the system.

The APU/CPU cooler I'll most likely use is the Thermalright AXP120-X67

It's a solid popular choice, should do fine. I decided to go against the grain and got the Deepcool AN600. It's almost identical in performance, but I just prefer it aesthetically. Also, this case has plenty of ventilation holes, so as long as the cooler fits, I wouldn't worry about turbulence.

for PSU, I'll be using the HDPlex GaN250 I already own, mounting to the front of the case (double-sided tape anyone? )

I would personally avoid using double sided tape in any scenario where you need to have crucial electrical components be secure in a PC case, especially if you're planning to carry this system around. Also, since the case will most likely get hot, the tape adhesive might eventually fail and if it happens during transport, it might cause some serious damage to other components. Try to find a way to have it either bolted with screws or get creative with zip ties/cable ties as a last resort.

Either way, these are just suggestions, have fun and good luck on your build!

 

[vlad1966]

Thanks nicknamenik - appreciate your feedback. How easy is it to mount that AN600 heatsink/fan? I'm mostly used to working with Noctua's.

 

[busdriver02]

I have a build in this case. I used the IS-67XT cooler, and ended up swapping the fan with another cooler to reduce noise. Basically the small clearance makes it much more sensitive to fan blade shape. In this case, the blade tip was creating the turbulence. Point being: if it ends up with an annoying sound, try a different fan.

As for exhaust fans, I used 80x15 fans from Thermaright and picked up M3x18 screws. If you go this route, the bottom four screws won't fit though, the screw heads bump up against the motherboard. It is plenty secure however, I'm not even fractionally worried about it.

 

[nicknamenik]

Thanks nicknamenik - appreciate your feedback. How easy is it to mount that AN600 heatsink/fan? I'm mostly used to working with Noctua's.

No problem, glad to help. I believe the mounting is identical to both Noctua and Thermalright, don't worry.

 

[vlad1966]

Thanks busdriver02 - what fan did you wind up swapping onto the IS-67XT cooler?

 

[busdriver02]

Came off an IS-55 ARGB cooler. The blades themselves are quite curved and the tips are very rounded. It's like 12 bucks on amazon.

 

[rokabeka]

actually you can also use regular 80x25 fans as there is enough space next to the motherboard. that means much larger variety of fans to choose from if you have the longer fan screws e.g. Noctua used to add to their coolers (26mm lenght?) that will also hold your 80x25 fans properly in the a24-v5.
I am also using a hdplex 250W GaN in my a24-v5, but my plan is to make holes on the front panel and use same style of screws already holds the side panels.
will upload pictures later.

 

[nightshift]

So how's the build going? I only saw photos and videos about either the silver or the black case, how's the gray one?
Also, please show us what you did - I am very much interested in this case, but there's barely any coverage for it.

 

[nightshift]

I bought these, ID Cooling is a brand I've been using alot in my mini-ITX projects, so these should be good. There's also these, they have higher RPM but are naturally louder, imo both are good choices.

Are these the same akasa slimfans (AK-FN076), just with different stickers for rebranding in the middle? They look exactly the same.

 

[nicknamenik]

Are these the same akasa slimfans (AK-FN076), just with different stickers for rebranding in the middle? They look exactly the same.

Might be, not sure. Never heard of this brand though, so I'm biased towards ID Cooling lol.

I am very much interested in this case, but there's barely any coverage for it.

I'm kinda baffled as well, one listing on Aliexpress sold over 100 units now and no one is posting anything about it, odd. My guess is, since this case is built specifically with 4060 LP in mind and any 4060 isn't viewed very positively online, people tend not to flaunt it too much. At least, that's why I decided not to even post my build.

I'll share a pic if you're interested. It also doesn't help that my case arrived defective, missing some mounting screw holes for the PSU, so I had to improvise using old AIO mounting brackets and screwing them directly into the PSU to make sure it's actually secure. It's a very fun build otherwise and the case has overall great ventilation.

Also fyi, they released a V2 of this case, I unfortunately bought the V1, right before they switched. The V2 is about 2cm taller, but comes with fancy feet, a carrying handle and the ability to fit 80x15mm fans up top, instead of 80x10mm and two 80x10mm fans under the GPU.

 

[nightshift]

I thought the psu should be upside down here with the cables starting from the bottom side. At least that's how the original concept seemed.
I don't like to have a handle as the case is small enough. Just need to find a small camera bag where it could snuggly fit - yet having 15mm fans on top and also below the gpu seems intriguing. I just got these akasa fans - they are 10.8mm thick to be exact. Would have loved having some case feet to come with it.

 

[nicknamenik]

I thought the psu should be upside down here with the cables starting from the bottom side. At least that's how the original concept seemed.

As I said, the case arrived defective with missing screw holes, so this was the only way I could mount it. Otherwise I would have put it the right way up.

yet having 15mm fans on top and also below the gpu seems intriguing

80x15mm only up top, 80x10mm below the GPU.

they are 10.8mm thick to be exact

This means that they're most likely not a rebrand, since the ID Cooling ones are 10mm on the dot, at least according to specifications.

 

[sp0iltbr4t]

actually you can also use regular 80x25 fans as there is enough space next to the motherboard. that means much larger variety of fans to choose from if you have the longer fan screws e.g. Noctua used to add to their coolers (26mm lenght?) that will also hold your 80x25 fans properly in the a24-v5.
I am also using a hdplex 250W GaN in my a24-v5, but my plan is to make holes on the front panel and use same style of screws already holds the side panels.
will upload pictures later.

my A24-v5 arrived but not the hdplex psu .. looking forward to do some cutting and drilling on the case too.. i plan to mount the hdplex psu against the back of the front panel since my motherboard (minisforum bd770i) do not have SATA port so no SSD mounting required. will put thermal pad in between if required.

Any feedback on the casing and psu?